Career reinvention brightens this couple’s future

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Henry DeVries

In less than a decade, what’s been considered to be a good field for jobs can vanish — seemingly without warning. The promise of cradle-to-grave employment is a thing of the past, lost to the mists of time and the time-clock.

What do you do when you realize your chosen field has been shrinking along with your paycheck?

A relatively new phenomenon, “career reinvention,” has emerged. Just as it sounds, you reinvent yourself, re-package your existing skills, talent, and experience — and seek new horizons outside your comfort zone.

Career reinvention differs from a traditional career change, moving from one field to another without changing, updating or measurably enhancing your skill set. Instead, you’re tasked with reinventing who you are, who you want to be, and what you choose to do with the rest of your working life.

That was the case for UCSD Extension students Lowell and Laurel Anderson.

Lowell spent more than two decades as a business manager, including 15 years in the motorsports industry. A few years ago, his position was eliminated. Suddenly, he found himself out of work.

“I felt really trapped,” he recalled. “The only thing I thought I was good at, was in an industry that took a heavy hit from the economy. I had no idea what to do next.”

His wife, Laurel, suggested that he check out UCSD Extension’s Paralegal Certificate Program. After all, she had earned a Professional Certificate in Professional Education at UC San Diego Extension, and their daughter was a California Western School of Law student.

“I decided it was time to go back to school,” said Lowell, “something I had avoided all my life.”

Unlike her husband, Laurel has always pursued higher education. Now a Palomar College professor of child development, she proudly holds three advanced degrees.

Her Professional Education Certificate from UC San Diego Extension, earned in 2012, not only reaffirmed her passion for learning and teaching, it helped reinvent the couple’s lives for the better.

“Getting my certificate has been helpful, but it’s been truly transformational for Lowell,” said Laurel. “He feels so much better about himself.”

After Lowell earned his certificate, he landed an internship with the County of San Diego’s Office of Public Defenders in Vista, near the couple’s Escondido home. Meanwhile, he’s completing his business administration degree at Cal State San Marcos.

“I have options now, without all the stress I had before,” said Lowell. “It’s a hard thing to do at my age, taking on something new, erasing fears and overcoming challenges. But thanks to Laurel, I did it.”